


Legally (3) Buns

by Mrs_Wedge (clueing_for_looks221b)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Legally Blonde Fusion, F/M, Feelings, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Yes that tag existed I didn't make it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 07:41:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26469592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clueing_for_looks221b/pseuds/Mrs_Wedge
Summary: When Rey Kenobi's boyfriend, Poe Dameron, breaks up with her to go to law school, she figures she'll just follow him there. No big deal, right? Like it's hard! She's counting on a fight to win him back and to fit in with the snobby and serious lawyer types, but what she didn't count on  is  Professor Snoke's shy, super-driven TA, Ben Solo, to steal her heart.A Star Wars: Legally Blonde AU.
Relationships: Jannah/Rose Tico, Kaydel Ko Connix/Poe Dameron, Poe Dameron/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 46
Kudos: 118





	1. The Breakup

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jeeno2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeeno2/gifts), [AttackoftheDarkCurses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AttackoftheDarkCurses/gifts).



> Here I am again, now writing my second fic! I blame @Jeenonamit and @AttackotDC.

This was, without question, going to be the best night of Rey Johnson’s life. She’d had a lot of good ones, to be fair. When her grandfather found her at the Jakku orphanage and whisked her away to a life of plenty in his Mos Eisley Hills mansion, that had been unquestionably great. When she was elected President of Epsilon Delta Iota, the biggest and most popular sorority at Canto Bight University, she had been elated. But everything in her entire life was prelude to this evening, this dinner, this moment. In approximately thirty seconds, Poe Dameron, her boyfriend of three years and the love of her life, was going to get down on one knee and ask her to marry him.

Rey knew in her bones it was going to happen tonight. Why else would he have brought her here to DJ’s, the nicest restaurant in Canto Bight? What reason would he have to fly home to Yavin to visit his grandmother last weekend except to obtain the Dameron family’s heirloom Lothal fire-ruby engagement ring? All week, he’d been gazing at her with proposal eyes—Jessika and Karé even said so. All the stars were aligned. The time was now. Rey was less than a minute away from finally having the life she always dreamed of: A chance to start a _real_ , normal family and put her past firmly behind her once and for all. 

“So I’ve been thinking, Little Ewok, now that we’re seniors, it’s time to really focus on who we are, and what we want to be.” Poe started, after clearing his throat nervously. Rey nodded encouragingly, enraptured at his use of her special pet-name. He must really be excited, like she was. He looked so handsome tonight, wearing her favorite brown leather jacket of his and with his usually unruly curls coaxed into some semblance of order. Poe often turned heads on the street, something that both annoyed and delighted Rey, but tonight he was extra gorgeous.

She too had taken care with her appearance for this special occasion. Jessika and Karé had treated her to a day at the spa, complete with manicure, pedicure, facial, and a blowout for her thick chestnut hair. She had spent a small fortune on a pink dress that was sexy enough to seal the deal but not so provocative that it didn’t also suggest “bride.” Her lips were glossed, her eyebrows were waxed, and her skin glowed. In short, she was perfect. She had to be. How else could she deserve this perfect man and the perfect life they would share?

“I have so many plans, Rey. You know I want to be a senator, just like my mother. If I’m going to do it, I’m going to need an amazing wife at my side.” Poe continued, eyes locked with hers. Woo boy. This was it. _Breathe, Rey, don’t pass out. You can’t say yes if you pass out._

“Our time together has been amazing. We’ve gone to so many parties and had so much fun…you make me feel like king of the galaxy. I’ll never forget the Spring Break we spent on Naboo where we practically never left the hot tub. I feel like you really know me, my little Ewok, which is why I’m sure this doesn’t come as a surprise…” He grabbed her hand across the table and squeezed it. Despite her firm self-talking-to, Rey was dangerously close to passing out. Everything she ever wanted was almost here. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes and fervently hoped they didn’t wreck her mascara.

“Rey, it’s time to-“

“Yes!” She shouted, cutting him off in her joy. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Break up.” He finished, dropping her hand and hanging his head, only to snap it up when her statement registered. They stared at each other, momentarily stunned.

Rey was the first to recover her senses.

“You’re breaking up with me? I thought you were proposing!” Now the tears did flow. How had this dream become a nightmare? There had to be a mistake.

“Proposing? No! Oh, my little Ewok…”

“Don’t call me that right now,” she snapped. “But you went to Yavin! Why would you go home except to get the fire-ruby?” She demanded. Poe shrugged, sheepish.

“To tell you the truth, I did go home to ask Nana for the ruby. But she and I had a long talk, and she reminded me about all of my plans and everything…and when I see my future, Rey, there’s just not room for you in it.” Rey felt like she’d been hit with a blaster bolt. After everything she’d done, she was still not enough for him.

“But you just said I really know you! And that we’ve had an amazing time together! Doesn’t that mean anything?” She asked, hating how whiny her voice sounded.

“Of course it does, my little E-- I mean, Rey. It’s just that, what, we’re going to keep throwing wild parties in law school? It doesn’t make sense. It’s time for me to leave college behind and find someone serious.” It was real, Rey realized. This was not some colossal mistake, or a dream she was going to wake up from. Poe was really breaking up with her. She wasn’t going to go home and have a victory party at the sorority house, she was going to have to face all her sisters who looked up to her and show them her ringless hand and accept their pitying condolences. Everyone would be talking for days about poor naïve Rey, who convinced herself she was good enough for one of CBU’s most eligible men…she was such a fool.

“I might not be serious, Poe, but I am seriously in love with you!” She choked out through her sobs, which threatened to become wails if she didn’t get out of this restaurant fast.

“I’m sorry, Rey.” He said softly. He even looked it, the bastard.

“Well, I’m sorry I wasted three years of my life on you. Goodbye, Poe.” She stood up and spun on her heel, prepared to get the hell out of there.

“Rey, wait! Let me get the speeder.” Poe called after her. She turned to glare at him.

“I’ll find my own way home, thank you.” She said frostily, as if he had not ripped her heart out and stomped it to smithereens only moments ago. He had stolen her future, she’d be damned if he’d take her pride tonight as well.

Cursing her platform heels, Rey sobbed her way back to the Epsilon Delta Iota house, pretending her tears were due to the pain in her feet only. Her feet would be fine after a few days and an Epsom salt soak, but would her heart ever recover?


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey devises a plan to win Poe back, and absolutely nothing is going to stand in her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, Ben is coming! I want to stay true to the movie as much as possible, but I promise I will amp up the Rey/Ben interactions. It’s not going to be NEARLY as slow burn as Elle/Emmett.

It had been weeks. Weeks since the women of Epsilon Delta Iota had seen their fearless leader, Rey Johnson, in anything other than a bathrobe and fuzzy slippers. The formerly perky sorority girl drifted from her room to the kitchen and back like a ghost, red-eyed and sniffling as she clutched a bag of hubba chips or a tub of Trammistan chocolate ice cream. If it weren’t for walking her dog, an orange and white fluffball named Beebee (who had been a gift from Poe, come to think of it) Rey probably would not have gone outside at all. Crying emanated from her room at all hours of the day and night, accompanied by the the Vortices’ ballad “If Only I Could Let Go and Cry.” She hadn’t been going to class. She hadn’t been working out. She had not even been tanning by the backyard pool, despite the fact that it was high season and the sun’s rays were gloriously warm. In short—Rey was not herself. And Jessika and Kare, her two best friends, were determined to do something about it.

“Rey, open up, sweetie! You’ve been in there all day!” Jessika shouted through Rey’s closed door. She could hear a nose being blown loudly, so she knew Rey was awake.

“Honey, it’s us! Your best friends!” Kare tried.

“I’m fine, guys, really. Don’t worry about me. I just don’t want to see anyone right now.” Rey mumbled. Jess and Kare scoffed. If she were fine _¸_ she would never have been seen outside the house in her pajamas. Epsilon Delta Iotas were _ladies_ , as Rey often reminded them, full of grace and class. Ladies did not show the world anything other than their best, most polished selves. It was a mantra that Rey had worked hard to instill in every woman in the house, and it pained her friends to see her disregard her own slogan so thoroughly.

“You don’t have to come out here, just let us in.” Jess cajoled, gentling her tone.

“We brought some new holos that just came out and a whole box of jogan fruit tarts…”Kare offered. Normally such sweets were frowned upon in the house, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Besides, Rey had been eating hubba chips like it was her job, she was hardly going to turn up her nose at a few pastries.

The girls waited outside the door, hoping they wouldn’t have to get the custodian to unlock it for them. One way or another, Rey was coming out today. In real clothes. With her hair brushed.

After what seemed like an eternity, Rey’s puffy, tear-streaked face appeared. She’d only cracked the door open a sliver, but her friends knew they could wedge their way inside if necessary.

“Hey K, hey Jess. It is sweet of you to check up on me but I’m totally-“ Kare cut her off, unable to bear another second of her friend’s weak excuses. This was Rey Johnson, for maker’s sake, the queen of their sorority and the entire school! She did not deserve to be wallowing in misery like this.

“You’re not fine. You look awful, you haven’t worked out or gone to class in far too long, and I’m pretty sure you’ve worn out that weepy old song. Rey, you’re a mess. Let us help you.” Kare said. Rey heaved a massive sigh, admitting defeat, then swung her door open.

“Come in.”

Inside, it was as bad as Jess feared…holocubes of Poe and Rey in happier days scattered everywhere, piles of junk food wrappers like mountains, and the bed a tangled mess of blankets, used tissues, and some navy and grey “CBU Athletic Department” hoodies that had once belonged to Poe. Without a word, Jess wrapped her friend in a hug. Rey stiffened at first in the embrace but then melted into it, tears flowing anew. Kare joined the hug, and for the first time in weeks Rey felt something other than sadness.

“Thanks, girls. I know I’ve been a little off lately.” Rey sniffed. Kare held back a laugh. Off for Rey was forgetting to use her eyelash curler before class. This was…something else.

“Poe is a huge nerfherder, Rey. He doesn’t deserve you. You’ll find someone else! You’re pretty, you’re popular, what more could any guy want?” Jess asked. Rey shook her head.

“I don’t want someone else, I want him! You don’t understand…” Rey replied.

“What I don’t understand is how he could want anything else when you’re literally perfect! What is he even looking for?” Kare asked. Rey shrugged, dejected.

“He said he needed somebody serious. Someone he can show off to all his stupid law school friends.” Rey said.

“That’s stupid,” Jess declared. “You’d fit in perfectly with his stupid law school friends! Everyone likes you! You’re like the easiest person to like in the galaxy!” Rey quirked her lips into a shadow of a smile.

“Thanks, Jess. But I just don’t—wait. What if you’re right?” Rey asked, her eyes growing wide. Jess and Kare recognized her expression as her Big Plans Face, the one she made when she came up with the theme for the winter formal or a totally amazing spring break trip.

“Of course I’m right! But what do you mean?” Jess asked.

“Poe wants somebody who can fit in at law school. So what if I just go to law school? Then he’ll see that I _am_ serious, and we’ll get back together and live happily ever after!” The light was beginning to return to Rey’s eyes, but her friends were not heartened to see it.

“Uh, Rey, you can’t just _go_ to law school. You have to get in. And Coruscant Law is one of the toughest law schools in the galaxy.” Kare said cautiously.

“I can get in! I have a 4.0, after all.” Rey laughed.

“Yes, in fashion merchandizing. Not exactly pre-law.” Kare said. Rey shrugged.

“You guys, I’m doing this. Poe is the love of my life, and that’s worth fighting for. With love on my side, I can’t lose. Even Coruscant Law can’t refuse—don’t lawyers feel love too?” Rey asked.

Jessika rather doubted that point, but she had to try and talk some sense into her friend.

“Even if you get in, which I know you totally could, then you have to actually GO to law school, which sounds completely heinous and really hard.” Jess offered. Rey only shook her head.

“Don’t you remember that emergency fundraiser fashion show I put on junior year with twenty credits and a few rolls of tissue paper? I can do really hard things. I know I can. Look, help me or don’t help me, but I am going to get into Coruscant Law. Okay?” Her friends sighed. They knew as well as anyone that when Rey Johnson put her mind to something, there was no standing in her way.

“Okay. We’ll help you. Of course we will.” Kare said. Rey squealed and squeezed her friends into a tight hug.

“You’re the best! Oh my gosh, what am I standing here for? I need to get some study books for the LSAT! But first, a shower. Why didn’t you tell me I stink? Jess, can you have the servant droid do some cleanup in here while I’m in the fresher? And Kare, can you pick me out an outfit? Something lawyerly. But still cute.” Rey called as she dashed towards the fresher down the hall. Her two friends watched her go, heads still spinning from the whirlwind of activity that was Rey Johnson. Before they left to complete their assignments, the two women shared a bemused look.

“Well, I guess we got her out of her room, right?” Jess joked. Kare nodded.

“Be careful what you wish for, I guess. Law school. Ew.”

**

“Law school? Maker, why? Law school is for boring, ugly, serious people. And you, Rey darling, are none of those things.” Ever since Ewan Kenobi became her guardian when she was six years old, she had been able to ask for anything--no matter the expense--and it was hers. Her grandfather, a confirmed bachelor, did not possess copious quantities of parental advice or affection. What he did have was money, piles and piles of it. To Rey, anyone whose clothes didn’t come from the hand-me-down bin at the orphanage was rich, but she soon discovered that even among the wealthy, her grandfather was loaded. In sixteen years, he had never told her no. But Rey had a sinking feeling that this request—this outlandish, ridiculous idea—was going to be her first refusal. She knew it would be a tough sell, which is why she’d flown home to Mos Eisley Hills to ask him in person. 

“Papa, I know it sounds crazy…but Poe is going to Coruscant Law in the fall, and I—” Her grandfather’s expression softened somewhat.

“Poe is a fine young man. Good family. I understand wanting to be with him. But why don’t you just move out there with him? Start a jewelry line, make a holo series? Are you sure you wouldn’t like a nice new handbag instead?” He asked her. She shook her head. She had not yet told him of her breakup with Poe because once she did, that made it final. And it was very much not final. She _was_ going to win him back, and they were going to be a real family.

“I don’t want another handbag, Papa, thank you. I want to go to law school. I need to show Poe that I’m serious. Someone doesn’t have to be ashamed of introducing to his lawyer people.” He frowned.

“You’re not someone to be ashamed of, Rey. Don’t forget it. And don’t ever let anyone, even Poe, make you think otherwise.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, and Rey knew in that moment she had won.

“But, if you really want to pursue this, then I won’t stand in your way. If you can get in, I will pay your way.” Rey shrieked and jumped up and down.

“Thank you, Papa! You’re the best.” At her shift in mood, her grandfather’s normal easygoing expression returned.   
  


“And there’s my happy girl back. What do you say we go to the club and get some dinner? Maker knows you won’t find any decent food in Coruscant. All micro-green this and foam essence that. I don’t need to pay a hundred credits a plate to still be hungry when I’m done eating!” She smiled.

“I’d love to.”

**

True to their word, Jess and Kare did help Rey get ready for law school. They sat on the back porch of the Epsilon Delta Iota house for hours, flipping through beauty magazines as they timed Rey’s practice tests. They drilled her on legal terms, they compiled a list of semi-celebrities her grandfather knew who might write her a recommendation, and they filled her in on all the gossip she was missing out on by studying instead of partying. Rey knew she could have accomplished all of these tasks on her own, but she was grateful for her friends lightening the load. Rey’s trust in them had not come easily, and it was nice to know that she had not judged the other girls wrongly.

In the end, chef to the stars and lifestyle guru (and longtime friend of Ewan's) Gormaanda wrote a glowing message praising Rey’s tenacity and love of life. Rey’s test score was high enough that even her most cynical sorority sisters conceded that her application would merit a second look at Coruscant Law. She had done everything she could possibly do to ensure she’d snag a spot next to Poe at school. Now, all that remained was to wait for her letter.

During the rest of that agonizing spring, Rey ran into Poe often. His fraternity and her sorority co-hosted several parties, and as president Rey absolutely had to make at least an appearance—not to mention that Poe adored Beebee and never missed a chance to pet the dog when he spotted Rey out on a walk. Each time they interacted, she was her usual upbeat self, cordial but not overly fond. She would not embarrass herself by begging him to take her back. She had worked too hard to debase herself like that. If her plan worked (and it would definitely work) he would be the one begging her forgiveness. She’d already decided that she would not make him suffer too long…just a few days, max. He hadn’t cheated or anything, just lost sight of the fact that he and Rey were soulmates. Once he remembered that, all would be made right again.

The day her acceptance letter arrived, her sorority sisters threw her a massive party. Jess, Kare, and the others fell all over themselves congratulating her, promising to come visit in Coruscant and declaring her the smartest woman Epsilon Delta Iota had ever produced. No matter how emphatically they praised her, Rey could see the surprise in their eyes. For some of them, this had not been a foregone conclusion. _That’s because they don’t know what a survivor I am. They’ve never seen me have to fight for anything…as far as they know, my whole life has been handed to me on a silver platter. And that’s because I made sure that’s what they thought._ Still, Rey was grateful for their kudos. It was a big deal, after all—just because she knew she would succeed didn’t mean that it wasn’t difficult.

Finals, graduation, and goodbye parties flew by, all blurring together into a giant blob of Stuff Rey Had To Endure Before She Got Poe Back. She spent her summer hanging out with friends, working on her tan, and going on a few business trips with her grandfather (and posting pics all over social media…it was imperative that anyone who cared to know could tell she was doing great and having an absolutely marvelous time).

Even though she’d been counting the days, with her and Beebee’s bags packed and ready to go, it still surprised her when moving day arrived. She took one last longing look at her childhood bedroom at Papa’s house. If she played her cards right, she wouldn’t be living here ever again. She and Poe would buy a large yet tasteful house on Coruscant and establish themselves as a terrific power couple who had their fingers on the pulse on the political scene but also threw the greatest dinner parties. Beebee would become the darling of the capitol with adoring fans asking to pet him and take pictures with him every time they went out. Rey had to smile, even as she was fighting back tears at leaving the first real home she’d ever known. Yes, everything was going to be perfect. Her future was still secure. She would have a family and be loved always. The hard part—getting in—was already over. Now, all she had to do was show Poe what she was made of. What could go wrong? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been pleasantly surprised at the reaction to this fic. I'm so glad y'all are enjoying it! Please keep leaving your comments and kudos, they are my lifeblood. I'm excited for you to meet Ben, Rose, Jannah, Finn, Snoke, and Zorri in their new roles next week! 
> 
> Also, did anyone catch my nerdy Greek joke? There's no "J" in the Greek language, so Epsilon Delta Iota is EDI (Like Jedi? Get it? Oh man, so glad I spent my undergrad studying ancient Greek for this very reason...)
> 
> Come find me on twitter @mrs_wedge! I love to fangirl about the fics I'm reading/other SW stuff.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's first day of law school...who will she meet there? Surely not a tall, dark, and awkward teaching assistant named Kylo Ren, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back everyone! All aboard the Rey Johnson Pain Train...but don't worry, you KNOW this story has a happy ending!!
> 
> Big thanks to both the movie and musical version of "Legally Blonde," from which I have stolen or paraphrased many of the clever bits or dialogue.
> 
> and thanks to @victoriamariea, who commented on a huge mistake I made! It's fixed now. <3

Even though almost everything since the disastrous night at the restaurant with Poe felt like a nightmare, Rey had to admit the Coruscant Law looked like a dream. The campus was like something out of a holo…large brick buildings with vines creeping up the walls, a sunny central courtyard where attractive students lounged with books or tossed around a bolo-ball. In spite of her predicament, for a moment Rey was swept up in the grandeur of it all. She was proud that she, little scavenger Rey, was a part of all of this pomp and circumstance. It had not been her idea to come here, but she’d earned her position fair and square.

This optimism had her flying so high that she literally accidentally bumped into the person she’d come here to be with, like this was some kind of silly romance story and not her life. Rey allowed herself a moment to really appreciate Poe’s looks again. The summer had been good to him—his hair curled a little longer, his skin a deep bronze. _He should be a model or something, not waste his body on a legal career._ When her eyes met his, she registered his deep shock and a little bit of fear.

“Rey, what are you doing here?” She affected her breeziest voice, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

“Poe, I completely forgot you go here! I go here, too!” She brandished her “new student orientation” documents like a shield. Poe’s shock did not abate.

“You got in…to Coruscant Law?” She scoffed. He was being a little hurtful. Didn’t he believe she could do anything she set her mind to?

“What, like it’s hard?” She flashed her sweetest grin at him, hoping to soften him up a bit. This wasn’t how she’d pictured her reunion with him going. They’d been talking for at least thirty seconds and there was no kissing happening yet.

“Rey, I—“ She cut him off. His face told her that what he was about to say was something other than “I love you take me back,” and she was not about to hear that on her first day. She would not allow him to say something he’d regret like that in public.

“We can talk after class! Criminal Law 101, with Professor Snoke, right? I’ll see you later! We can grab some caf or something. See ya!” With a jaunty wave, Rey shouldered her bag and practically skipped inside. No matter what, Poe Dameron was not going to see her cry again.

**

Listen up. The legal profession is a loth-wolf eat loth-wolf world. Any of you who came here with ridiculous notions of making the galaxy a better place or fighting for the less fortunate can leave my classroom right now. I live in reality, not a fantasy world, and I teach in that same reality. If you stay, if you work, you will learn from the best. You will learn that there’s nothing credits can’t buy and that whoever has the most credits wins. I will teach you to find out who has the most credits and how to make yourself indispensable to them. Is that understood? Any questions?”

Professor Snoke thundered from the front of the classroom, barely pausing to draw breath. He was a frighteningly tall man, dressed in a gaudy mustard suit made of some fabric so shiny that it almost seemed like solid gold. He was bald, with a craggy, monstrously ugly face. His sunken ice blue eyes seemed like they could kill a man with a glance. It had been a long time since Rey had seen someone so full of hatred that it physically affected their body. She had not missed the look.

Rey wondered why this man was allowed to teach first years. He wondered why he had a position at this school at all. He sounded like a criminal—someone who would break the law, not uphold it. She looked around the room, surprised to see so many rapt faces. Were her classmates really buying this stuff? She had been harboring a few qualms about being smart enough for law school, but this proved she was not.

She must have huffed out a little laugh or breathed too hard, because Snoke turned his cold sneer on her.

“Something funny, Miss Johnson?” She was simultaneously grossed out and not surprised that he knew her name already. People like him used knowledge as an intimidation tactic…they used _everything_ as an intimidation tactic. She shrugged.

“No, sir.” He glared at her, wordlessly challenging her to a staredown. She did not look away.

“Perhaps you would be so kind as to summarize the facts of _Ackmena vs. Mos Eisley Cantina_?” Now Rey did look away, to seek some help in the eyes of her classmates. Very few would meet her eyes, and the few that did looked at her with a mixture of scorn and pity.

“Sir, I’m not familiar with the case.” She muttered. His cold eyes lit up.

“Am I to assume that you didn’t do the assigned reading, Ms. Johnson, or that you are too stupid to recall what you’ve read?” There were a few snickers.

“I was not aware that there was assigned reading for the first day, sir.” She replied, her tone even while her mind was racing through all of the messages she’d received since being accepted into Coruscant Law. Had she missed one offering an assignment? Snoke chuckled darkly.

“Ms. Bliss, if you were in my place, what would you do with a student who had not done the reading?” Rey turned and spotted a tall, willowy woman with curly blonde hair who happened to be sitting right next to Poe. Her datapad was the latest model and her outfit looked like it cost more than the datapad. Growing up in Mos Eisley Hills, Rey was used to people with money but this felt different than the usual flashy celebrity wannabe wealth. Something about this girl’s money felt natural, like she wasn’t showing off…she just didn’t know any other way to live.

“I’d throw her out, sir.” Ms. Bliss said, smirking in Rey’s direction. Her heart dropped into her shoes. Why would the other girl do something like that to her? Just to be mean? Whatever reason she had, it was clearly the right one because Professor Snoke’s wizened face stretched into something approximating a smile.

“You’re a killer, Ms. Bliss. I like that. You’ll be a great attorney one day. You heard your classmate, Ms. Johnson. You’re out. Next time, come prepared.” Shaken to her core, Rey mutely shoved her things into her bag and walked out. She held her head high because, damnit, she was still Rey Johnson, an Epsilon Iota Theta. Nobody, not Snoke or Ms. Bliss, could take that away from her.

Outside, Rey plopped on the nearest bench and struggled valiantly not to cry. So much for showing Poe that she was serious…she’d already made a critical error on her very first day. She was so absorbed in her misery that she failed to notice when someone sat down beside her.

“Hey, Ms. Johnson, right?” Rey startled and looked up at the speaker. He was a man, a very tall, very…distinctive looking man. He wasn’t quite handsome, not exactly, but there was something about him that made it impossible for her to look away. He was quite pale, with inky black hair worn just too long to be fashionable (that nevertheless looked extremely soft). His nose and ears were just on the wrong side of too large, but they did not seem out of place on his face. His lips were plush and full, and if Rey hadn’t been completely in love with Poe she would have noticed that they were sinfully kissable. And his eyes were dark brown, like the strongest caf, and swirling with too many emotions for Rey to place.

“Yes, hello. I’m Rey.” She replied, offering her hand for him to shake. She had a very firm, very pleasing handshake that she’d worked very hard to perfect over the years. At least something about her could be impressive today.

“Hello Rey. I’m Kylo Ren. I’m Professor Snoke’s teaching assistant. I work for him at The First Order firm. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened today. He does it every year and it never gets any funnier, yet he loves it.” Rey blinked up at him.

“Funny? Totally humiliating me is funny to you?” She spat. He shook his head violently.

“No! Not to me. To him. It’s a social experiment, you see. There’s no such case. There’s no reading. He just picks a random student to throw under the speeder and sees what another student will do—help the first one up or step on her to get ahead. Either way, he turns the rest of the class into a lecture about how kindness is a weakness and only ruthlessness will get you anywhere in life. Rah, rah, go law school.” Kylo deadpanned, having the grace to look embarrassed at this admission.

“So I didn’t even mess up? And that woman made me look awful anyway? What kind of a horrible person would do that?” She asked. Kylo shrugged.

“I don’t know. But almost every time, someone does just what she did. Law school is terrifying, and people will do anything to come out on top. It brings out the absolute worst in people.” He said. Now it was Rey’s turn to shake her head.

“Not me. I won’t do anything of the kind. If I have to hurt somebody to do something, then it’s not worth doing.” Rey promised. Kylo studied her for a moment, and Rey had the strangest feeling he was peering into her soul.

“Everyone says that. But most of them change their minds. I don’t think you will, though.” She smiled at him, and he couldn’t help but return the gesture. _Kylo Ren has a face unused to smiling_ , Rey thought. _He should smile more._

“Thank you.” She said.

“Hey, do you want to go for—” the doors behind the bench burst open and the class came barreling out, flooding the courtyard with noise and motion. Kylo leaped off the bench as if he’d been electrocuted.

“I’ll see you around, Ms. Johnson.” Kylo slipped into the sea of people and disappeared so quickly that she wondered if she’d actually imagined him. Before she had time to call out after him, her personal space was invaded by a tiny snarling rancor.

“Who does he think he is? What sort of sick person gets off on screwing with people like that? He’s a psychopath if you ask me, and I will absolutely be speaking to Dean Mothma about why such a scumbag is on the faculty here. I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’m Rose, by the way, and you’re coming out for drinks with me. Don’t even try to say no, I have a stun gun in my bag and I will drag your unconscious body if necessary. But it’s way easier if you just walk with me. What’s your name, anyway? Sorry, I’m not very good at doing talking.” Rey took a deep breath, trying to process all the words that the woman in front of her had just uttered, seemingly without breathing. Even though she’d only absorbed about a third of it, the fury rolling off the short raven-haired girl on her behalf was extremely comforting. Apparently the entire class wasn’t populated by nerfherders and moofmilkers.

“I’m Rey. And I’d love to come have a drink with you. Let me just go home and feed my dog first.” She said. Rose squealed in delight.

“You have a dog? I adore dogs but my girlfriend’s allergic. We’re going to be best friends, Rey, just you wait.” Rose looped her arm through Rey’s and started walking, only stopping to laugh when she realized she didn’t know where Rey’s apartment was.

“You’d better lead the way.”

**

After a few glasses of starfire ‘skee, Rey didn’t care too much about the odious Professor Snoke, the mess she’d gotten herself into, or even Poe Kriffing Dameron. She, Rose, Rose’s girlfriend Jannah, and Jannah’s brother Finn were all smashed inside a tiny booth at Dex’s, a dive bar frequented by law students and other undesirables.

Rey had nobly planned to have a drink with Rose to thank her for coming to her defense, then go home and start studying, but the other girl was a delight, there was no better way to put it. Rey had not felt so instantly at ease with another person since, well, since ever. Jannah, Rose’s girlfriend, was a medical student whose dry wit was a perfect counterpoint to Rose’s nonstop chatter. Finn was also a first year at Coruscant Law. The three of them bickered like a very odd old married couple. Rey just wanted to soak up their goodwill and camaraderie so she could store some for herself back in her lonely apartment.

“I heard that the only reason that Snoke gets to teach here is because his firm donates giant buckets of money to the school. He’s basically bought his teaching position, which he uses to terrorize people and recruit for his internship,” Finn declared. The sole male in their party apparently had made friends with their entire class during the summer over the ‘net and was thus the source for all vital information. For instance, he had informed her that the woman who’d so cruelly sold her out this afternoon was named Zorri Bliss, from one of Coruscant’s Old Republic ruling families. Rey wondered if he knew anything more about the mysterious teaching assistant who was so kind to her earlier.

“Internship?” Rey slurred, dimly noting that perhaps it was time for some water.

“Yeah, Snoke picks four students out of Crim 101 at the end of the semester and they get to work for him next semester.” Finn explained.

“Oh, gee, could I really enslave myself to that prick for the honor of becoming a junior soulless corporate shill? Where do I sign?” Rose snarked, rolling her eyes in mock ecstasy.

“No, but apparently whoever gets it has like, a permanent career after school. Once you survive First Order, you can work anywhere.” Finn concluded.

“Well I don’t care. You’d have to pay me to spend more time than necessary with that creep.” Rose pronounced. Jannah patted her girlfriend’s hand reassuringly.

“So, Rey, you don’t have a Coruscanti accent. Where are you from?” Jannah asked.

“Nowhere, really,” she confessed, “I don’t know. My adopted grandfather lives in Mos Eisley Hills. I’ve lived there since I was little. But I don’t know where I’m really from.” In all four years of college, Rey had not breathed that fact to a single person. Why had she laid her deepest secret out in front of these strangers within hours of meeting them? _They’re nice. And they’re not judging you. They already saw you at your worst and you’re still here with them. Plus, you’re super drunk, too._

“Well, we’re so glad you’re here now. Coruscant is a hot mess, but it’s our hot mess. You’re going to love it here,” Rose said, sliding a glass of water across the table towards Rey. Miraculously, she managed to catch it and bring it to her lips without spilling it all over herself.

“I’m sure I will. Thanks again for dragging me here, Rose. It was really nice to meet you, and you too, Jannah and Finn. But I really have to get home. My dog will start tearing the house down if I’m gone too long.” Rey wobbled to her feet, and unwedged herself from the cramped booth, promising to text Rose when she was home safe. She put one foot in front of the other, her entire brain focused on making it to the door and flagging down a speeder. Once she was home, snuggled in bed with Beebee, she could let sleep take her, forget this entire day ever happened, and start over tomorrow. She had not been derailed, just detoured. Poe was still the destination. And she would make it to him, even if she had to make a few stops along the way.

The evening air outside the bar was blessedly cold on her flushed face, and she felt herself sobering up. She felt almost herself again when a speeder taxi pulled up outside the bar, idling to allow its passengers to exit. Rey walked towards it, about to give her address to the driver, when she realized who had just emerged from the vehicle. It was Poe, arm slung casually around the waist of none other than Zorri Bliss, who looked devastatingly gorgeous in a low cut black sheath dress and perfectly winged eyeliner. Poe was whispering something into her ear, and she was laughing, completely carefree as if she had not humiliated a total stranger hours earlier.

Rey blinked to make sure this was not a drunken hallucination. After all, it was almost beyond belief—her almost-fiance out with her sworn enemy. She had almost convinced herself that she’d made the whole thing up when something sparkly caught her eye. Rey gasped as she spied the Dameron family fire ruby, glinting obscenely on Zorri’s ring finger. Rey swore she could feel her heart actually breaking in her chest before she vomited up the contents of her stomach into a trash can. _I guess the universe really does hate me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Rey's met Ben! And Rose and Finn and Jannah and Zorri. Poor thing :( But now the other shoe has dropped--it's time for Rey to take charge! I promise next week will be happier. Please keep the kudos and comments coming--they really make my day/week/month!! And if you're an American, make sure you're registered to vote.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey meets Amilyn, Hair Guru and Lifestyle Coach (and has an Awkward Encounter with Kylo)!

It was fortunate, Rey thought, that law school was so kriffing hard, because she was so busy trying to keep up with schoolwork that she only had time to think about Poe and Zorri every thirty seconds or so. Thank the Maker that the pair hadn’t seen her that night at Dex’s…somehow she was spared that indignity. Instead, her new friends found her slumped against a trash bin, scooped her up, and dragged her home, where Rose and Jannah consoled her while Finn filled them all in on the Poe/Zorri situation. (“I had no idea that you knew him, babe, otherwise I would have told you everything!” He’d apologized profusely.)

Apparently Zorri was a childhood friend (that Rey had mysteriously never heard of) whose family was connected to the Damerons from way back. Over the summer, she’d come to visit him at his family’s compound on Yavin and they’d hit it off immediately. At the end of her two week trip, she was wearing the fire-ruby and they’d been inseparable ever since. Zorri was supposed to take a year off to plant trees on Felucia or some feel-good volunteer project that directionless rich kids liked to do, but when she and Poe got engaged, her father made some calls and got her into law school with him. _And I’m the one who doesn’t work hard? I earned my spot here fair and square…she’s the one who needed Daddy to bail her out._

Clearly, word had gotten to Zorri somehow about Rey, because every time Rey so much as glanced in her direction on campus, she’d grab Poe’s ass or start making out with him. (Rose said that anyone who was so intense about PDA had something to prove, and Rey wanted to agree with her.) In her darkest moments, Rey admitted that they looked really good together. There was obviously chemistry there, and the families matched. They would make adorable curly-haired babies.

But Rey didn’t sacrifice her entire senior spring and move all the way out to Coruscant for Poe to make adorable babies with someone else. No, Poe was hers, they loved each other, and he was going to remember that eventually, or she would make him remember it. _That’s it! I’ll get my hair cut and highlighted the way I wore it when Poe and I met and remind him just how amazing life was when we were together._

“I need a salon.” Rey announced to Rose and Finn as their study session was breaking up for the day. The three of them practically lived in a small, windowless study room deep in the bowels of the library. It smelled terrible and the lights flickered constantly, but it was always empty for their use and so far away from the front desk that they could eat their contraband snacks without fear of retribution. Rose searched her friend’s face.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to come with?” Rose asked.

“Nah, I know you and Jannah have date night tonight and I wouldn’t want you to miss that. Thanks though. This is something I need to do alone.” Rey replied. Rose nodded slowly and squeezed Rey’s arm.

“Okay, well…have fun! And remember, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.” Rey smiled. Rose was right, of course. But Rey knew that the galaxy could be cruel, and sometimes really great books were judged by their covers and got left on the shelf. She was not going to wait on the shelf any longer.

In the six weeks since school started, Rey, Rose, and Jannah had gotten one mani/pedi at a no-frills day spa close to campus, but Rey was looking for somewhere a little more special than that. For a crucial transformation like this, she needed an artist. She sat on a bench outside the library and called a speeder while scrolled through holonet reviews of various stylists. She found one with only three reviews, but all were 5 stars. The happy customers called Amilyn’s “a hidden gem of Coruscant,” the proprietor “a goddess magician,” and their experiences “perfect.” Rey was puzzled why there weren’t more reviews if the place was so incredible, but she decided to trust her gut and give it a shot. As she waited for her speeder to arrive, a huge shadow blocked out the fading daylight. Rey looked up to see Kylo Ren, Snoke’s TA whom she had definitely not been thinking about, looming over her.

“Hello, Ms. Jackson.” He said, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Why did he look so nervous? He faced down Snoke daily, a man who made opposing counsel vomit with fear.

“Hey, Kylo! Have a seat.” She patted the bench next to her, and he gingerly perched on the end of it, leaving as much space between them as humanly possible.

“What brings you here?” He asked, gesturing to the bench. She smiled, dimples flashing. Maker, he was so awkward!

“To this bench? Well, I am waiting for a speeder. I’m going to get my hair cut and balayaged.” Kylo grimaced.

“That sounds painful.” She smiled wider.

“Painful? Balayage? No way! It just takes a long time is all. It’s not even on the same level as, like, a bikini wax or something like that.” Ben’s eyes widened as she mentioned a bikini wax, and she blushed, deciding too late that it wasn’t the smartest thing she’d ever done to mention her nether regions to her TA. She stared at her shoes, willing the speeder to pull up and whisk her away. Ben broke the silence first.

“Why are you changing your hair?” He asked. She snapped her head up to look at him. He was peering at her like she was his star witness about to give testimony that would put the bad guy away for life. _This guy is a little intense. Cute, but intense._

“Umm…I used to wear it differently? And I felt good about myself when I looked like that. And I want to feel like that again,” she replied. He nodded.

“Law school is tough. It makes everyone question themselves. Most of us were the smartest people at our college before, and now we’re all here together and some of us are at the bottom of the class. It can be demeaning,” Kylo said. Well, Rey hadn’t been talking about scholastic matters, but Kylo didn’t need to know that. She appreciated that he was being open with her. Poe had always projected this nice guy aura but when it was just the two of them, it was like pulling teeth to get him to be vulnerable.

“Yeah, I guess,” she mumbled, not wanting to admit that she was considering this hairstyle for a _guy_.

“Well, you should do whatever you want to, obviously. It’s your body. But I think your hair looks good already,” Kylo said, then dashed off towards the library, calling “See you in class!” over his shoulder as he ran. Rey shook her head, chuckling. This Kylo Ren was an enigma…intimidating one moment, clueless the next. And he had complimented her, in a sincere and totally non-gross way. Rey almost canceled the speeder and went back to her apartment, but she’d made the decision already to change. Now she just had to take the leap of faith.

**

Amilyn’s Salon had, to be kind, seen better days. It was situated in a lower level of Coruscant, where daylight seldom penetrated even at midday. In the evening, it felt positively subterranean. Half the letters of the neon sign were out, and the front window featured a prominent crack. Rey reminded herself that this was a leap of faith. Hadn’t Rose just told her that it was what’s on the inside that counted? Rey took a deep breath, sent a message to Rose with her location to give to the police in case she disappeared, and opened the door.

She felt like she had stepped into another world. Inside, Amilyn’s was an oasis of tranquility and warmth. Well-tended plants crept up the walls and across the floor, making the place feel like it was in the middle of a forest. The treatment chairs were plush and cloud-soft. A fountain babbled from some hidden nook, the water sounds relaxing her almost instantly. Rey felt like the very room was giving her a big hug. She knew immediately that she had come to the right place.

A tall, pale, lavender haired woman floated to greet her.   
  


“Hello, I’m Amilyn. Welcome to my salon. I’m so glad that you found me.” She clasped Rey’s hand and held it firmly. Rey nodded mutely, overcome with sensations.

“You must be a student, you look so tired. Come, please sit. Let me read your cards.” This shook Rey out of her stupor.

“Oh, no, I’m not looking for a reading, I just want to—” Amilyn put up her hand.

“Reading first. Everyone gets a reading, then we talk treatments. Inside first, then outside.” She gracefully folded herself into a chair and motioned Rey to one opposite. Rey sank down into it, unable to conjure the energy to protest the card reading. She’d had it done before, even done them herself for friends when she was a teenager. Rey didn’t believe in fortune-telling or fate or anything like that, but she didn’t see any harm in letting this lovely woman put on her little show before she fixed Rey’s hair. If the worst thing that happened to her was that she got to sit in this heavenly chair for a while, so be it.

Amilyn shuffled the sabacc deck, then laid the cards out in a complicated spiral pattern. She started talking, but so quietly Rey could barely hear her. She wasn’t putting on a show for Rey…or if she was, she was doing a horrible job.

“Hmm…massive upheaval in love, a great and terrible loneliness deep inside. Always being left behind. You ache to belong to someone, really belong forever. So, a quest, a new beginning, and now you’re here. Trying to go back to how things were, but you know you can’t do that. The belonging you seek is ahead of you, my child, not behind you.” She looked up with Rey, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears. Rey was close to crying herself. The woman had sliced her open and laid her beating heart out for all to see. Instead of feeling violated, though, she felt curiously light. She had shared much with Rose and the others, but not everything. Rey felt that if anyone ever saw the gaping hole her parents had left in her heart, they would find her too needy, a childish freak unworthy of real love. But this woman, this stranger, knew all of Rey’s darkest secrets, and she looked at her with compassion, not pity.

“So you’re not going to dye my hair?” Rey choked out. Amilyn shook her head.

“Love makes for horrible hair decisions. And you’re worth more than that. What you need, dear one, is a soak in a hot tub, an exfoliating salt scrub, and a massage. You can tell me everything about what’s got you so sad. Your body will release all that tension you’re carrying around and you can start fresh. How does that sound?” Rey nodded.

“Perfect.” She sent Rose a message telling her that she was safe and not to worry, then she shut off her comm.

Hours later, she emerged from the salon scrubbed pink and shiny, feeling more relaxed than she could ever remember being. Amilyn hugged her tightly as she poured her into a speeder and made her promise she’d be back the following week, and take good care of herself in the meantime. Rey couldn’t wait to return and bring her friends, if only to ensure that she hadn’t hallucinated the entire thing. Surely an experience like she’d just had at the price she’d just paid was too good to be real?

At school the next day, several people commented on her glowing skin. Rey thanked them all but refused to name her source. She wasn’t about to share Amilyn with just anyone. As she walked into Crim 101, bracing herself for another brutal lecture, she ran into Kylo.

“You didn’t change your hair.” He commented, smiling. Rey beamed at him.

“Nope. It turns out I don’t need to go back to feel good about myself. I’m good just as I am.” He nodded, staring at her again. She met his eyes this time, staring right back.

“Yes, you are.” He finally said, breaking the spell around them. He haltingly put his hand on her shoulder, squeezed it, then jerked his arm away and sprinted into the classroom. Rey’s shoulder tingled with the memory of his large, warm hand for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wookiepedia says that sabacc cards were sometimes used for fortune telling, so just go with it, okay? Yes, I should have just made this an earth-bound AU because I am bad at remembering the names of Star Wars stuff. But like Rey, we can't go back, so we must go forward. :)
> 
> thanks for reading! We're rolling now. Please leave a kudos or a comment if you enjoyed...they motivate me to keep writing and really make my day!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey gets invited to Zorri's costume party. What could go wrong? She also has an unscheduled visit to the home of one Kylo Ren, who was a very interesting secret to tell her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff is about to get real, folks.

“I know that Zorri is the absolute worst and all, but I think it’s nice that she invited us all to her costume party! I’ll take any excuse to dress up…I just love it so much. Back home my sister and I had this big box of costumes and we’d wear something goofy pretty much every day until our parents put a stop to it. I’m so glad that Jannah agreed to go in a couple’s costume with me as Sy Snootles and Max Rebo. She’s not usually into stuff like that but I wore her down with my begging. Do you know what you’re going to wear?” Rose finally paused for a breath and looked at Rey, who was currently emptying her vast closet of all of its contents. Beebee the dog was nestled on a pile of dresses on the floor, looking quite content to have Finn petting him. The small dog was notoriously nervous around men, and he had made exceptions for only two men: Poe, and now Finn.

“I can’t decide. I don’t know what would be best…something funny, to show I fit in at law school? Or something sexy, to remind Poe what he’s missing?” Despite her visit to Amilyn’s a few weeks ago, she was still determined to win Poe back. Outside the floral-scented bubble of the older woman’s salon, reality crept back in and reminded her of how wonderful what they had was. She had worked so hard to get here to law school, put everything on the line for him, and she was not going to give up solely on the advice of a (admittedly very kind) stranger she’d known for a few hours. She hadn’t been back to visit the salon since her first time, but she was due for another massage and knew she’d feel better if she returned sooner rather than later.

“Definitely sexy. Zorri’s hot and all, but she seems way too uptight to be kinky. Poe seems like he enjoys a little more spice in the bedroom, am I right? ” Finn asked, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

“That’s for me to know and you to never find out,” Rey joked, blushing.

“You never know,” Finn replied, winking. Rey reasoned that if there was one person who might make Poe question his sexuality, it would be Finn. Even though she was not the right gender to be the object of Finn’s affection, she had seen him in action flirting and had gotten a secondhand high off of his charm. The man had a gift.

“Finn might be right. About your costume, I mean, not about Poe’s bedroom preferences because I am so not thinking about that. Do you have something?” Rose asked. As it happened, Rey did. Poe had begged her to buy some ridiculously cheesy old-school lingerie back in college, and Rey had never thrown it out. She slipped into the ‘fresher to try it on, then showed her friends, reddening at their loth-wolf howls of approval.

“Yassss, Rey! That’s perfect!” Finn cheered.

“You look just like an old-school—”

“Palace dancer. Yeah, that was the idea. I feel kind of stupid. But I know that Poe likes it,” Rey concluded. She wrapped herself in a bulky coat against the Coruscant autumn, which was inhospitably cold in her opinion, and walked out of her apartment with her friends. Jannah was meeting them at the party with both her and Rose’s costumes, and Finn was wearing a black “This is my costume” tee shirt. Rey wondered what Poe would be wearing. He was a big fan of costume parties, too, back in college. His fraternity had thrown several during his tenure as president, all huge successes. That was one of the many things that Rey loved about him—his determination to make everything perfect. When she met him, she felt like she’d found a kindred spirit in him. Hadn’t he felt the chord sounding in his heart the way that she had? The fact that he could discard her so easily was making her question everything she thought she knew about them both.

Zorri’s apartment was a little way off campus in a very old but fabulously maintained building. There was an actual garden out front with sculpted hedges and flowers. _So this is where they hide the green on this planet_ , Rey thought. The lobby had marble floors polished to a mirrorlike shine and actual framed paintings instead of digital image screens.

“This place looks like a museum,” Finn observed.

“Come on, let’s go up before I lose my nerve.” Rey decided, dragging her friends onto the turbolift.

“But Jannah’s not here yet!” Rose whined.

“She’ll find us. Let’s go!” Rey slammed the button, praying to the Maker that Poe would see the outfit and remember the romantic night of its debut. This had to work. She was running out of ideas. She shrugged off her coat as the doors opened, revealing…  
  


“Kriff, Rey, what are you wearing?” Zorri scoffed. She and her posse of friends stood just outside the lift, dressed in normal clothes. Rey scanned the room with horror, realizing that nobody else had a costume on. Her face flooded with heat. She had been tricked. Rey fought back tears, refusing to give the other woman the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Zorri had taken so much from her, she would not take her dignity too.

“What is your deal, Zorri? This was a horrible trick to play on us. And for what? Do you just get off on being mean or something?” Rose fumed, stalking up to the taller woman. Zorri had at least six inches on the petite brunette but Rose was not phased.

“Chill out, Rose. It was just a joke.” Zorri shrugged, sipping her drink like she crushed people’s spirits every day, no big deal. _She probably did_ , Rey thought.

“Rey! Hey! Wow, you look…” Poe appeared from the kitchen, a tray of drinks in hand. He almost dropped them when he saw Rey’s outfit. So complete was her despair at looking foolish in front of practically all of her classmates that she barely even registered his pleasure.

“She looks like a skank, Poe. Honestly, sometimes I can’t even believe you two dated,” Zorri finished for him, grabbing him by the elbow and yanking him further into the party away from Rey.

This wasn’t happening. Rey was not going to lose Poe and the respect of her peers in one awful moment. She wracked her brain for something—anything—to salvage this moment. She saw a datapad cable sitting on a table by the door and inspiration struck. She grabbed it, wrapped it around her wrist, and called out,

“Hey Zorri, would you call General Leia Organa Solo a skank? Because that’s who I’m dressed up as, from her famous Huttslayer escapade where she rescued Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt.” The party went dead silent.

“Did you just call General Organa Solo a skank?!” Tallie Lintra, one of their fellow students who Rey didn’t know very well, shouted. She looked ready to punch Zorri right in the face. Everyone’s eyes went from Rey to Zorri to Tallie and back again, breathless to see who would make the next move. Zorri’s cheeks were pink as she stammered,

“Um, no, of course not, obviously I respect her very much like everyone else. We owe her our freedom.” Rey nodded and held her head fractionally higher.

“Just making sure. Well, thanks for the invitation but I just remembered I have other plans this evening. Have a lovely party,” Rey spun on her heel and walked as slowly as her racing heart allowed to the elevator, holding her spine ramrod straight until the door slammed shut.

“Oh my goodness Rey that was so badass! Did you see how freaked out Zorri was! I thought Tallie was going to start an honest-to-Maker catfight right in the middle of the floor!” Rose crowed as they made their descent back to the lobby. Rey didn’t trust her voice to speak without breaking into sobs, so she just nodded.

“Seriously Rey, I bet she never messes with you again. I can’t believe that bitch,” Finn said, slinging an arm around her shoulder. Rey was grateful for her friend’s support. She wasn’t sure she would have made it out of there alive without Rose’s righteous fury.

Outside, the cold air blew away what was left of Rey’s adrenaline. She was suddenly exhausted and just wanted to get home, put on a holo, and cuddle up with Beebee for the night. She had so much school work to do, but none of it was happening tonight. She waved off her friends’ offer to join them at Dex’s and began calling for a speeder.

“Hello, Rey,” Kylo said, startling her. What was he doing here?

“We have to quit meeting like this,” She joked, motioning towards the bench she was waiting on. He looked confused.

“Why are you sitting outside my building?” He asked. Rey’s jaw dropped.

“You live here? In Zorri’s building?” Rey asked. Kylo shook his head.

“Who’s Zorri?” Rey snorted.

“Ms. Bliss? From class? The bane of my entire existence? How can you not know who she is?” Rey said. Kylo shrugged.

“Doesn’t ring a bell. There’s a lot of students in your section. I can’t keep track of all of them.” He dismissed. _But you keep track of me,_ Rey thought. The idea warmed her more than her plush coat.

“Why is she the bane of your existence, anyway? Seems a little extreme for someone you just met a few months ago,” Kylo asked. His brown eyes were curious, not mocking, and Rey’s story came tumbling out of her. She told him everything, starting with the night Poe dumped her back at Canto Bight. The words spilled out of her, tearing her wounded heart all over again but also sweeping some of the pain away with the force of the expulsion. Kylo sat and listened, nodding at appropriate places but never breathing a word. When she finished, she reflected that she’d told the story so many times now to so many different people that it was getting easier to tell. She marveled that she, a woman who always kept things locked away inside, had become such a chatterbox. It was something about this planet, this place, she mused, where secrets were so highly prized, that made her want to give hers away for free.

“Can I see the costume?” Kylo asked, the tips of his ears darkening. Rey laughed.

“That’s what you have to say? After all that?” Kylo shrugged.

“I’m curious.” She laughed again. _Men are all the same, even when they’re different._

“Well, I’m not opening up my coat out here. It’s freezing.” She stood up, ready to finally call that speeder and head home, when Kylo’s hand darted out to grab her elbow.

“Then come inside. My apartment is quite warm.” Kylo said. She stared at him and he quickly realized his mistake, his blush racing from his ears down to his entire face and neck.

“Oh, I, well, I don’t think…” she stammered, unable to formulate a clear sentence but also somehow unable to say no.

“Of course I didn’t mean, I’m so sorry, it’s just that I…” Apparently he was tongue-tied as well. Rey had to smile at him. He seemed so un-smooth, so genuine, that it was difficult to see how he was able to stomach working for the worst person on campus (and possibly on the planet).

“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll show you my costume if you tell me why you’re working for Snoke when he is obviously the worst ever.” Rey said. Kylo’s eyes boggled and he blinked a few times, as if to verify that the woman standing before him was not a mirage. After a few tense moments, he fumbled in his pocket for his keycard and swept a hand in front of him in welcome.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”

***

Rey had absolutely _not_ spent time imagining Kylo Ren’s apartment. If she had done such a thing, she might have imagined a glossy, magazine-spread style place with dark, modern furniture, spare interior design, and little to no color, to match his all-black wardrobe of course. It would be mysterious yet curiously alluring, just like the man himself.

Kylo’s apartment was nothing at all like she hadn’t (okay, had, definitely had) pictured it. It was large, and expensive looking, similar to Zorri’s place a few floors below. But his was somehow…more lived in. Deliberately less ostentatious. The furniture was high-quality but mismatched. There were strange, almost tacky pieces of art on the wall, designed to amuse rather than impress. And then there were the bookshelves. Bookshelves everywhere, crammed with old-fashioned books.

“Are these _paper_?” Rey asked incredulously. She’d only seen things like this in very niche collections of friends of her grandfather’s, and then only in very limited quantities. This many must have cost a small fortune. Kylo shrugged.

“They were my uncle’s. It was a hobby of his, collecting old things. I was very close to him when I was young.” He looked a little sheepish, as if he had been caught owning a fetish pornography collection instead of a museum’s worth of antique books.

“What happened?” Rey asked, aware that ordinarily she would not have been so nosy but that nothing about this situation was ordinary.

“We had a falling out. He’s not a big fan of Professor Snoke’s. Actually, nobody in my family is.” Kylo admitted. He stood before her, obviously searching for the words to say something, and settled on,

“Let me see the costume.” Rey untied the sash of her jacket and wordlessly dropped it to the floor. She stood in front of her TA in a few scraps of silky fabric and some metal. The air was charged with possibilities and neither of them spoke for a long time. Rey could not remember the last time she felt this vulnerable, this alive. The humiliation at the party hours (days? Months?) ago had been one sort of exposure, but this felt entirely different.

“It doesn’t look anything like her,” Kylo finally said. Rey snapped out of her trance-like state.

“Who?” She squeaked.

“My mom. You said you were dressed as Leia Organa Solo, right? I just wanted to see in case, well, I wanted to make sure that, I guess, you don’t look like her, because for obvious reasons that would be… super weird.” There was too much to digest in that, so Rey focused on the biggest piece of information.

“Leia Organa Solo is your MOM?!?!” Rey said, head spinning. She was a legend, a myth, a celebrity beyond compare. She didn’t exist in the real world, with kids who became TAs for assholes. How could this be true?

“Yeah. We’re not close, well, not anymore. When I started working for Snoke, she and my dad cut me off. I changed my name so nobody could tie me to her and hurt her political career. I’m not the son she deserves.” Ben said, hanging his head.

“I’m sure that’s not true,” Rey soothed, reaching out to rub both of his massive arms with her smaller ones. She meant the gesture to be comforting, but in her state of undress it took a decidedly less platonic tone. She stepped back, embarrassed.

“It is. My mom is, as you know, the leader of the government. The most accomplished person in the galaxy. And my dad is a famous pilot, her equal in his own right—even though they have nothing in common. I’m just a dorky-looking kid who was never good at small talk or charming reporters with sound bytes or any of the other things that politicians’ kids are supposed to be good at. My whole life, I felt like a colossal disappointment to them. I could never live up to the family legacy. Then Professor Snoke recruits me out of undergrad, says I have unique potential, that he can teach me to be greater than either of my parents. All of my bad qualities that I’m ashamed of, he says are useful and important. If I went with him, he could make me into a man who bowed to no one. So I followed him. Of course I did. Because I’m an idiot. And now, he owns me. I have no work experience except for his firm. And he’s the most powerful lawyer on Coruscant. He’ll never let me go, and even if I could get out, he’d make sure I never found work in this galaxy again. So I stay here, working my ass off for him for an obscene amount of money, knowing that this hell is my life until I die. I’ve hated it for so long that I can’t remember the last time I was happy. Until you came along, that is.” Ben finished his speech and looked her in the eye. His face was painted with so many conflicting emotions Rey struggled to parse them all: rage, hope, fear, excitement, and possibly…love? Or something very like it. It took Rey’s breath away.

“Why me?” She blurted out. Ben did not break eye contact.

“I don’t know. There’s nothing particularly special about you. But when I saw you, it was like my soul knew yours. Do you know what I mean?” Rey had no idea what he meant. All of this was so confusing and unexpected. How could this man—her TA—stir up such feelings in her?

And yet, she did know what he meant. As soon as he said it, she felt the truth of it in her heart. Ever since she first laid eyes on him, she’d felt different. They hadn’t had very many interactions but she could tell without looking up when he’d entered a room. At school, they bumped into each other time and time again, like magnets helplessly drawn together. She could not begin to understand why this was happening, or what it meant for the future, but she could not deny that something, something very large and real, was developing between them. She didn’t realize she was shaking until he offered her his hand.

“Hey, you’re trembling. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make us some hot chocolate or something.” Rey shook her head violently, stumbling back away from his touch. She was afraid of what might happen if she let herself take his hand.

“No, thanks, I really should go. Thank you for having me, it was…nice to see all of your books, Kylo.” She said, backing towards the door.

“Ben,” he said. She stopped.

“What?”

“Ben. My name is Ben Solo. Nobody knows that, so you can’t tell anyone or even call me that if we’re not alone, but I wanted you to know my real name.” Rey nodded.

“Goodnight, Ben,” she whispered, then turned tail and ran. She knew, even then, that there was no way she was going to be able to outrun her feelings, but that night she had to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter honestly surprised me. I was not expecting Ben to blurt out his feelings so early but what can I say? Soft Boi gonna be soft. 
> 
> Please keep leaving your comments and kudos! They truly make my life and I am deeply grateful for each and every one. Thanks for reading and see you next week!!


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey swallows her pride and asks Ben for some extra sessions...study sessions of course! ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're cranking along here! I hope you're having as much fun as I am. I regret that Amilyn/Paulette is not here as often as I wish her to be. Credit to Legally Blonde--the film and musical version--for the dialogue paraphrased or outright stolen. 
> 
> I did some research into the making of Legally Blonde and it's actually pretty interesting--first time director, Reese making her comeback after "Election" branded her as a bitch (it's called ACTING people!! Sheesh.) Just FYI!

All in all, Rey felt that she had done an excellent job pretending that the night of the doomed costume party never happened. She had not told Rose, Finn, or Jannah about her impromptu visit to Kylo—Ben’s house, nor had she breathed a word to Ben other than “good morning,” “good afternoon,” and “see you next time.” She could almost pretend she didn’t remember how close she’d been to falling into his arms, or the look in his eyes when he told her his name. Yes, Rey had completely wiped the event from her mind.

Except she hadn’t. She totally hadn’t. She kept replaying her conversation with Ben over and over in her head, trying to make sense of everything he’d said…and everything she’d felt. That conversation had sparked something inside her, and she hadn’t been able to extinguish that spark, no matter how much energy she devoted to it.

“Rey? Hello? Are you in orbit today?” Rose, at their weekly study session, had apparently been explaining a complicated legal doctrine for some time now. _It doesn’t matter if you were listening or not, it’s not like you’d understand it._

Rey’s comprehension had been slipping, and that was true even before the whole Ben thing happened. She had worked hard in undergrad, but this was an entirely different kind of hard. In her weakest moments, Rey wondered if Poe had been right: maybe she wasn’t serious enough for this life. _No. You got in all by yourself. You deserve to be here just as much as anyone else—and you and Poe belong together._

“I’m sorry, Rose. I’m just having a hard time. I can’t keep everything straight in my head! There’s so much to remember and every class is different.” Rey sighed and laid her head down on the desk.

“Maybe we should call it quits for the day,” Rose suggested gently.

“Maybe you should ask Kylo Ren for some private tutoring,” Finn added. If Rey had been drinking something, she would have spit out her mouthful. What? Did Finn know? He mercifully took her panicked expression as fear _of_ the TA and not fear of _her feelings_ for said TA.

“Girl, you should see your face! I know he’s a giant and really broody but he can’t be that bad. And he’s not too tough on the eyes, either…” Finn joked. Rey laughed, a little hysterically. 

“Eeew! Finn, he’s our TA! That makes him totally off limits. Besides, Rey’s only got eyes for Poe, right?” Rey nodded.

“Absolutely.” Rey stuffed her things into her bag, planning to beat a hasty retreat.

“But there’s no shame in asking for a little extra help when you need it, Rey. Everyone needs help sometimes. We’re only human.” Rose said, patting her shoulder softly. Her eyes were kind and not pitying as she consoled her friend. _How can she be so unceasingly kind? With all the bad in the world, kriff, all the bad in this school, and she just keeps loving people?_

“You’re right, Rose. Thanks.”

**

“Mr. Ren, sir?” Crim 101 had just let out for the day, and Rey was making her way to the front of the room where Kylo sat. She hadn’t spoken very loudly, but his head snapped up as if she had shouted. His eyes were wide as they met hers, making her blood race in return. _Get it under control, Rey. This is not good._

“Yes, Ms. Johnson?” he replied, equally softly.

“I, uh, well, I…need some extra help. I am having a really hard time keeping all of this stuff straight and I need someone to explain it to me,” Rey blurted out. If Snoke hadn’t already left the classroom, she would have never admitted this weakness, but she felt she could trust Ben—even if he was Snoke’s TA.

Ben raised his eyebrow, struggling to keep his expression bland.

“You…need a teacher?” he asked, voice cracking. _Oh, Maker. We are in trouble._

“Yes, I do. I mean, really. No funny business or anything, I honestly need help with this material and I’d really appreciate it if you had some time—” he mercifully cut her babbling short.

“Rey. I’ll help you. When do you want to meet? Should we meet in the library?” he asked. Rey gulped.

“Actually, I was thinking we should meet at my apartment…I don’t want everyone to see you with me and think that I’m getting…special treatment.” She said.

“Special treatment,” he echoed. Rey shrugged helplessly. It had all sounded so much less… _sexual_ in her head.

“Here’s my address and comm number, if you need to reach me. We can work out a good time over message, thanks!” Rey thrust a data chip with her information into his chest and ran from the room. Why were they always running from each other? What were they running from? Rey knew she was going to have to face this Thing soon. Either that, or flunk out of school.

**

The next evening at her apartment--every centimeter of it scrubbed or tidied to perfection—Rey paced nervously as she waited for Ben to arrive. She’d thought about opening a bottle of wine, then dismissed the idea as too brazen. Then she considered baking some cookies but found that too insipid. She didn’t know what to give this man to eat…or what to give this man at all. She wasn’t even sure what he was offering, or whether or not she was interested. That’s why it all had to stop tonight. She would let him down gently, yet firmly, so she could remain focused on her goals, which were 1) do well in school, so she could 2) win Poe back and 3) have a great big wedding and live the life of her dreams.

The doorbell buzzed. Rey raced to answer it, then stopped to smooth her hair and check her teeth in the mirror. Even if she was shutting the guy down, it didn’t hurt to look her best.

“Hey,” Ben breathed, looming in her doorway. He had swapped his formal school attire for a pair of jeans and a baggy black knit sweater, which should have decimated his sex appeal but somehow really didn’t. Parts of Rey’s anatomy that had been dormant for months began to stir at the huge, handsome man in front of her. _Handsome? When did that happen?_

“Hey,” she replied, and they stared at each other for several beats too long. _Do it, Rey, do it right damn now or you’ll lose your nerve and do something idiotic like climb him like a tree._

“Come in!” she chirped, gesturing to her sofa. She curled up in a chair as far away from him as possible while still occupying the same room. Ben surveyed her apartment, eyes lingering on the various holocubes of her and Poe. _Poe. That’s right. Need Ben to help me get Poe back._

“So, thanks for coming over. I am really grateful. Before we get started, though, I just want to say something about what happened at your apartment,” Rey began.

“I owe you an apology. I was extremely out of line. I’m your TA, you’re a student, and I have no excuse for the way I acted,” Ben said. Rey was a little startled. Did he not want her? Was he not feeling the electricity that crackled between them?

“It’s fine. Really, it’s fine. I just wanted to say that—” Ben cut her off.

“You don’t have to say anything. I understand. It won’t happen again. I will be the most professional TA you’ve ever had, and if you ever feel threatened or unsafe, please report me immediately to the dean,” Ben concluded. He refused to meet her eyes, delivering his speech to her coffee table.

Rey had practiced her own speech so many times, but she didn’t think he was going to let her get it out. He seemed determined to avoid any conversation about that night. What if she pushed him, and _he_ reported _her_ to the dean? She couldn’t lose her spot in the class, not for anything. She swallowed both her words and a strange sense of disappointment. _You got what you wanted, right? He’s going to help tutor you. Now start acting not-crazy before he leaves you, too._

“Thanks! That is really, really, great. So, where should we start?” she forced herself to smile—her patented pageant-winning grin—and opened her book. Without hesitation, Ben jumped right in, and the study session began.

**

Ben truly was a good teacher. True to his word, he treated her with cordial respect only, and his ability to break down the minutiae of the cases allowed Rey to finally understand what she was supposed to be doing. She began volunteering in class more and more often, and occasionally even corrected other students when they’d made an error. Sometimes late at night a treacherous little part of her mind wondered what it would be like if her relationship with Ben had become more-than-professional, but she slammed the door on those thoughts as soon as they cropped up. Ben was kind, incredibly intelligent and dependable, and she would absolutely be failing without him. The hours they’d spent poring over the material had forged a deep friendship, something Rey had not expected but utterly welcomed. She had come to depend on his horrible dad jokes to brighten up a crummy day and his homemade granola when she forgot to eat. She was beyond grateful for his friendship, and she would never do anything to compromise it.

Class today was focused on _Ellthree vs. Calrissian_ , a stalking case where the couple had conceived a child as the result of a one night-stand. The man wanted visitation rights for the baby, and the woman would not grant them, so he started following her and leaving threatening messages. Snoke had called on Poe to explain the facts of the case, which he was doing with his typical confident air.

“Mr. Calrissian wasn’t stalking, he was totally within his rights to demand parental visitation. Without his sperm, the child in question would not have been created!” Poe exclaimed when Snoke pressed him. Snoke stared at Poe for a few moments.

“Now you’re thinking like a lawyer,” Snoke graveled. Poe high-fived Zorri, seated beside him. Rey was furious. He _was_ stalking, no matter how anyone twisted the story. He took advantage of the situation and made this woman’s life a living hell because he could, and men like Poe would gladly help him get away with it. Well, Rey wasn’t going to allow it for one second longer. Appealing to right and decency would get her nowhere, that she knew. She would just have to out-spin Poe’s spin, demonstrating the absurdity of the argument. She raised her hand. Snoke narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, Miss Johnson?” Rey took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._

“I was wondering if Mr. Calrissian kept a record of all sperm emissions throughout his life?” The class erupted in snickers but Rey refused to back down. Snoke’s eyebrow raised.

“Why do you ask?"

“Well, Mr. Dameron claims that without the man’s sperm, there would be no baby. But unless Mr. Calrissian attempted to contact every one night stand he’d ever had to see if his sperm resulted in conception, his pursuing of Ms. Ellthree is arbitrary and capricious. Why now? Why this sperm?” Rey asked. The snickers had morphed into murmurs of approval. _They were buying it!_ It was time for the coup d’etat.

“And, by this same standard, any masturbatory emissions where sperm was clearly not seeking an egg could be prosecuted as reckless abandonment.” Rey concluded. The class was dead silent. Rey was either about to get praised or kicked out of class, it could go either way. Still, she was proud of herself. She’d stood up for women, and she’d made her voice heard. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

“Ms. Johnson, I believe you just won your case,” Snoke intoned. Rey just barely held back a squeal. _It worked!!_

The rest of the class was a blur. Rey could not shake the feeling that she’d done something right—defending someone who couldn’t defend themselves. It felt good. It felt powerful.

As class concluded, Snoke announced,

“I’ve already selected who among you will become my interns next semester. I’m working on a murder case and you will be working around the chronometer, so be prepared. I will message the list of my chosen students to all of you this evening. You’re dismissed.” Everyone filed out of the classroom. Rey had no hope of being chosen. She hadn’t been doing well in class until recently, and even if she had, she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend so much time with a slimeball like Snoke.

**

“I’m telling you, we can take him down from the inside!! That’s the way to real power!” Rose protested over dinner. She, Finn, Jannah, and Rey were discussing what to do if any of them were chosen.

“I don’t know…absolute power corrupts absolutely. I’ve seen it. It never ends well,” Finn replied. Rey shrugged.

“Who cares? We get it, we don’t…it’s not the end of the world. There are other jobs out there,” Rey said. If she kept repeating it, it would start to come true. Rey’s message alert went off. She jumped like a startled puffer pig before checking and seeing the message was from Ben.

_Want to come over and wait for Snoke’s email? I baked bread, which can be either victory or consolation bread.—BCS_

Rey smiled.

“Hey guys, I gotta go walk Beebee. See you tomorrow, okay? Good luck,” she said, slipping out of the booth to catcalls of “is walking Beebee what the kids are calling it nowadays?” from Finn. Her friends thought she had a secret fuckbuddy whom she was embarrassed to introduce to them. Rey found that lie infinitely easier to stomach than the truth—that the person who made her smile like a beacon was their forbidden TA, her friend Ben.

At his apartment, she scooped up a slice of bread and inhaled it before taking off her boots. She moaned.

“Kriff, this is so good. Why are you a lawyer when you could be rich selling this?” she joked. Ben smiled as he hung up her coat.

“I only bake for friends. Do you want to watch a holo or something?” Rey thought for a moment.

“Nah, I’ll probably be too distracted. Can we just, I don’t know, sit here and eat?” she asked. Ben chuckled.

“Sure. Anything you want.” The silence stretched between them, familiar and easy. Rey loved that she never had to put on a show for Ben, to keep him entertained or make him feel comfortable. She didn’t have to make herself smaller to make him feel bigger. She could just…exist. It was nice.

Both of their message alarms went off at the same time. Both of them jumped. Rey winced.

“You read it. I’m too nervous," Rey pleaded. Ben scoffed.

“What are you nervous for? I thought you didn’t want this!”

“I don’t! I mean, I think I don’t. But Rose says we can fight the man from the inside, and I might just be doing well enough thanks to you…I don’t know.” _I don’t want to be not picked again._ Ben’s warn brown eyes found hers.

“Rey. No matter what this message says, you are worthy. This is just an indication of who Snoke isn’t overly annoyed with on this particular day, that’s it. It doesn’t mean you can’t be a good lawyer…a great lawyer. It doesn’t mean anything at all. Please don’t worry,” he insisted. Rey sighed.

“Fine. Whatever. Just read it,” she commanded. He picked up his datapad and clicked on the message. Rey felt like she aged ten years in the time it took him to scroll down past the letter to the list of names.

“Zorri Bliss, Poe Dameron, Finn Storm, Rose Tico, and Rey Johnson. Rey, you did it!” Ben read. He grabbed Rey and spun her around, whooping with glee. _Maker, I did it. I really did it._ Not even getting into law school had felt this good. She was right there, with Poe and Zorri and the other smart kids. She was going to _be_ somebody, make something of her legal career. When Ben set her down, she crushed him in a hug. He stood stock-still for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her too, encircling her in warmth and his scent: old books and cinnamon. She looked up at him, teary eyed.

“Thank you. I would never have done it without you,” she said. Ben shook his head.

“No. You did this yourself. You knew you needed help, you sought it. And you worked your ass off. No thanks necessary,” he promised. Rey suddenly realized how ridiculously close they were. If she stood on her tiptoes and leaned in just a few centimeters, their lips would be touching. Ben seemed to sense this at the exact same moment, because his eyes widened.

“Rey, I’m so sorry—” but she couldn’t bear to hear him apologize, not today. No apologies, no words were necessary for what was coming next, barreling down on them like a crashing starship. Up close, his eyes were darker than she remembered. Maybe it was a trick of the light, or maybe they were darkened by hunger, the same she was sure was echoed in her own hazel eyes.

Slower than a melting glacier, she closed the distance between them. Her eyes and Ben’s shared a whole conversation: asking permission, granting forgiveness, begging entry, and surrender. When at last, their lips touched, Rey felt the shock of it across her whole body. She would be surprised if the whole building hadn’t felt it. It was like a key slipping into a lock, like sliding under the covers after an exhausting day. It was _right_. Ben kissed her like a man possessed, and Rey kissed him right back, pouring everything she had held back these long months into the kiss. She slipped her fingers into his inky tresses and held on for dear life. When they finally broke for air, Rey leaned her forehead against his and looked at him. He reached a hand up to cup her cheek, comfort and safety in his touch.

“Don’t be afraid, I feel it too.”

Before the message, Rey thought that getting Snoke’s internship would be the end of all her problems. Now she could see how stupid that was. Her problems were just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh, Rey's in trouble now...or is she?? 
> 
> I know, a criminal case (such as the stalking case in this chapter) would not be named Person X vs Person Y, that's a civil matter. But I wanted to sneak in L337's name. (Sorry Lando!) And besides--the legal issues they're discussing (a paternity case/custody order) are actually civil anyway! #LawyerNerd #IRegretNothing #ActuallyIRegretSoMuch #ButNotThisFic #JusticeForL337
> 
> Yes, Ben's middle name is obviously Chewbacca, thank you. 
> 
> THANK YOU for commenting, it makes my week!! Y'all are the greatest.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey visits Amilyn and starts her internship at the First Order law firm. Will she be able to stand working for Snoke?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me, or are the lines of dialogue pulled directly from Star Wars the sexiest ones???? " I feel it too"? What am I supposed to do with that? 
> 
> Anyway, we're gearing up for the 3rd act! Hang on tight, folks. 
> 
> **Just a note that I will not be updating next week--the American election is Tuesday 11/3 and I need the time to volunteer for Get Out the Vote! Go vote, if you can. See you the following Monday!!**

“So I kissed him. I know I should say it just happened, or it didn’t mean anything, and all of those things you say to excuse your behavior, but I can’t. Because I did it because I wanted to, and that’s the truth. There’s something about him, Amilyn, that just…like I’ve known him all my life. Does that make sense? I’m sure I sound insane. I feel insane. Nothing’s been the same since that night I went to his apartment.”

Rey was reclined in Amilyn’s facial chair with a jogan fruit peel paste slathered all over her face. She was glad that the procedure forced her to keep her eyes shut, so she didn’t have to face the embarrassment of looking Amilyn in the eye when she confessed her feelings. She knew the older woman’s blue eyes would see right through her. When Rey walked in after months of absence, Amilyn had asked no questions, just embraced her like a long-lost friend.

“You don’t sound insane. Meeting your soulmate can rock your world to its foundations,” Amilyn said. Rey shook her head vehemently.

“But B-Kylo isn’t my soulmate, Poe is! We’ve been together for so long, and I know his family and he knows my Papa. We match. The life I will have with Poe is the life that I’ve dreamed of ever since I was old enough to know what dreaming was. I will make a good senator’s wife, a good mother to Poe’s children. It just makes sense,” Rey replied. Amilyn laughed at Rey, not unkindly.

“Real love and what makes sense are seldom the same thing, child.” She massaged Rey’s shoulders as the facial did its work, and Rey felt her physical tension melt away under Amilyn’s capable hands. She wished that her brain could be drained of tension so easily. She didn’t have time to obsess over this, not with school _and_ the internship _and_ her plan to win Poe back. Rey had too much on her plate to entertain a…distraction, as delicious of a distraction as Ben was.

“I know…but this time it is. I mean, Kylo doesn’t make any sense at all! He’s even estranged from his family. That means our kids would have no grandparents other than my Papa, no big family gatherings with a million cousins or anything like that. And what would I do as an assistant professor’s wife? Entertain panicked law students in our dingy little flat? Learn to cook?” she scoffed. _Sounds like you’ve given it a bit of thought, Rey Johnson. Are you really as unaffected as you claim? Besides, you know that his apartment is really nice. You could make a home there if you wanted to._ Amilyn didn’t speak to Rey for a while as she worked, clearly chewing over something in her mind but not ready to verbalize it. Finally, she said,

“Maybe you’re meant to be more than someone’s wife, Rey. Poe’s or Kylo’s. Maybe _you_ have something to give the galaxy, something special.” The thought skipped Rey’s heart. Nobody had ever said anything remotely like that to her before. She felt tears pricking in the corners of her eyes but she fought them back. They would ruin the facial, anyway.

“All I’ve ever wanted was to be loved by a family,” she confessed quietly. Amilyn gently wiped the fruit paste off her face, then put her hands on Rey’s shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes.

“I know, dear girl. And you deserve it. But that doesn’t have to be all that you are. You can be more. You _are_ more. And the partner you should spend your life with is one who sees that.” Rey nodded, swiping at her now fruit-free eyes.

“Thank you, Amilyn. Really. But I know that Poe and I are meant to be together. He just needs to remember that. And now that we’re going to be working together at Professor Snoke’s internship, he will! We’ll be engaged by spring break, you’ll see,” Rey decided. She had willed so many things into existence in her life, this might just have to be one of them.

“But isn’t Kylo going to be working there, too?” Amilyn asked. Rey groaned.

“Yes. I can’t get away from him,” she replied. She slipped her coat on, preparing to go back out into the cold. There was no hope of any reprieve from this weather until at least after the new year celebration, and Rey was miserable at the prospect of a few more months of this. Why was the capital of the Republic in such a frigid place? Why couldn’t governments function on planets full of sandy beaches?

“My advice is, just let it all go. Until the big case is over, focus on your work. Devote everything you have to being the best lawyer that you can be, and see what happens then. Your true love will wait for you until then, I promise,” Amilyn said.

“That makes sense. I’ll try to just work on me for a while. Thank you, Amilyn. I don’t know what I’d do without you!” Rey said. Amilyn smiled as she swiped Rey’s credit chip. Rey signed the register, leaving a large tip. Maker knows Amilyn deserved more than Rey paid her, since she often functioned as both aesthetician and therapist, with a little surrogate mom thrown in for good measure.

“I’ll see you soon, Rey. Take care of yourself, and respect your heart,” Amilyn intoned. Rey smiled as she opened the salon door.

“I will. I’ll try, anyway.” 

**

Rey hadn’t spoken to or seen Ben since the night that they kissed. After that one perfect kiss, Ben had insisted that they call it a night, citing the adrenaline of the moment. He said he “didn’t want her to do something she’d regret.” _I’ve got news for you buddy, I already regret it._ She appreciated his sensibility, but now it had been over a week and she had no idea how to act around him. Usually she would have at least seen him in class, but she was now excused from Snoke’s lectures due to the internship. Tomorrow was her first day at First Order, and she knew she needed to get the first awkward encounter out of the way before she bumped into him in person at work. She messaged him, aiming for casual and funny (and failing miserably, she knew).

 _So what does one wear on their first day at First Order? Funeral shroud? Prison jumpsuit?—R_ He messaged her back almost immediately.

**Haha. Either is fine. Or a suit.—BCS**

_Pantsuit or skirt?—R_

**I always wear pants.—BCS**

_You nerfherder! What do the other women in your office wear?—R_

**I don’t know. I don’t really notice stuff like that.--BCS**

_You don’t have to, you’re a boy. Nobody cares what you look like unless you show up naked or with, like, black socks and sandals. But women have to look good. But not too good, otherwise someone will think we’re stupid or stuck up. There’s a narrow window. I have to hit the window.—R_

**Kriff. That sounds exhausting.—BCS**

_You have no idea.—R_

**Just wear the tweed skirt suit with that pink blouse. It looks professional and brings out your eyes.—BCS**

_Ben, don’t say stuff like that.—R_

**Don’t give you the advice you asked for? I’m confused. –BCS**

_We have to be professional, Ben. We’re colleagues. If anyone figures out that we kissed…I’ll be the office slut who’s sleeping her way to the top.—R_

**Rey, anyone who thinks that is garbage. You are clearly at FO on your own merit.—BCS**

_The world doesn’t work that way, Ben. Look, I like you, you know that I do, but the other night was a one-time thing. You were right—I was hyped on adrenaline. Doing well at FO is really important to me and I have to focus on my work and myself for a while. I need you to understand.—R_ His reply was a little while in coming, enough that Rey had several small heart attacks. She needed Ben—as a colleague and friend. She couldn’t let one kiss ruin what they had.

 **Of course I understand. I want you to succeed, too. And you’re right. Business and pleasure need to stay separate.—BCS** Rey now desperately wished that she was with him instead of messaging him—intention was impossible to read. Was he angry with her? Was he hurt? She couldn’t message him again…he’d given her the perfect answer. It would be foolish to bother him again. She went into her closet, pulling out both a smart black pantsuit and the tweed. Why did he have to remember her wardrobe? Now whatever she wore, she would be sending him a message. Didn’t he just say that he didn’t notice stuff like that? Why did he notice _her_ clothes? _You know why, Rey._

She hung both outfits from her doorknob, exhausted. She’d flip a coin in the morning. She showered, put her hair in rollers, and slipped into her pajamas. She crawled into her bed, Beebee snuggled up beside her, and prepared to turn off the light. Her comm was blinking. Surprised, she checked it.

_Don’t wear the tweed—fashion is your area, not mine. I’m sure you’ll pick the perfect outfit. And Rey, take as much time as you need. I will wait for you.—BCS_

**

The law offices of the First Order firm were as spartan as they were imposing. How could something be empty and impressive at the same time? Everything was black—the walls, the furniture, and even the droids matched the dress code. Rey thanked her lucky stars she’d gone with the black suit.

“I feel like we’re at a funeral…our funeral,” Rose whispered. Rey snickered quietly. Although the entire office was a flurry of activity, it was eerily silent, as if someone had turned the sound down on the building. It creeped Rey out. Why was nobody listening to music, or chatting?

“Do you two mind? People are working,” Zorri hissed. She and Poe had come inside holding hands, oblivious to stares. It couldn’t be clearer to Rey—Zorri had hitched a ride on Poe’s starship and was headed wherever he was going. She knew what that looked like because a few months ago, that was her. Now, she still wanted Poe obviously, but she was going to work beside him, not behind him.

”Students, come in to the conference room. We are beginning.” Snoke commanded, appearing ahead of them. So much for a tour, orientation, or any kind of welcome. _What did you expect, Rey? This guy is awful. You’re not here to be his friend—you’re here to learn how he operates so you can bring him down._

When Poe, Zorri, Finn, Rose, and Rey had filed in and taken seats around a massive conference table in total silence, Snoke stood over them, just looking at each of them as if they were something he’d scraped off the bottom of his shoe. It made Rey’s skin crawl. Was she really going to survive an entire semester here every day?

Ben slammed the door open, sweating a bit as he practically flung datapads at all of them. He slumped in the seat next to Snoke’s throne-like chair, panting.

“Nice of you to join us, Ren. Glad being here on time was so important to you. Now that we’re all here, we can begin,” Snoke sniped. Ben did not meet his eyes. Rey hated seeing him cowed like that. Ben was twice the man Snoke was…why did he insist on being the old man’s personal punching bag? Snoke’s raspy voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“Our client is Kaydel Connix, star and owner of the Connix Tonics fitness empire. She sells,” here Snoke checked his notes, “weight loss drinks and other health ‘potions.’ A very wealthy young woman, who up until last week was married to Gial Ackbar, a war hero turned diplomat about sixty years her senior.” Ben pushed two photos to their datapads, one of a gorgeous, smiling blonde woman wearing neon spandex and holding two giant bottles labeled CONNIX TONICS, the other of an ancient, bald man with bulging eyes that gave him a fish-like appearance. Not a good-looking couple, on the surface, but who knew what their private life was like? Snoke gave them a moment to study the pictures, then continued.

“Gial was found dead in his home last week, shot in the chest. An anonymous caller heard blaster fire and called CorSec, who found Kaydel covered in Gial’s blood. She says she didn’t do it but has no alibi. Our job is to get her off,” Snoke finished. Everyone was silent, afraid to be the first to ask a question.

“So do you think she did it?” Finn asked. Snoke rolled his eyes.

“Of course she did it. But that doesn’t matter. What _does_ matter is that she is paying us, handsomely, to convince a jury that she didn’t do it. So we will come up with a theory that will get her out of jail, free to murder again. Tomorrow we’ll go see her in jail, so be here early. The case file has been sent to all of your datapads. Study it for the rest of the day and come up with a list of questions to ask her. That’s all.” Snoke got up and walked out. Everyone opened the file and started to read. Rey had been hoping to discuss the case a bit with her peers, but apparently that was not happening on company time. Oh well, she would have to have dinner with Rose and Finn and talk it all over that night. She was pondering what to order for dinner when her comm started buzzing. Surreptitiously, she slipped it out of her bag and on to her lap. Who could be messaging her? Practically everyone she routinely spoke to was in this room. Her heart dropped when she saw a message from Amilyn.

_Rey, please come quickly. It’s an emergency.—Amilyn_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, what's going on with Amilyn???? Find out soon! These two idiots can't stop making heart eyes at each other, no matter how hard I try to keep them apart. :) Thanks for commenting--your comments make me a better writer, and they make me SO HAPPY!!!

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how many chapters this will be but I plan to update weekly. Please comment or kudos if you enjoyed, it will make my day! And leave any suggestions for how to make this fic better! I live to serve :)


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